Training Time!!

February 3^rd-6^th

As I stated before, we are here!  When we arrived at the airport, we were whisked away to a hotel about an hour away.  We loaded up into two vans and as I crawled in the back seat (the only seat left), I realized the seats on the aisle had another seat attached that you had to lower down like the desk tables in middle school!  I WAS TRAPPED AND HOT AND FREAKING OUT!  I just tried to breath and have conversations with my bench mates and as we started driving the wind made it cooler.  It was actually a pretty pleasant ride even though it was so dark we couldn’t see anything. 

At the hotel, we were assigned new roommates.  I was assigned to room with Chantelle which was awesome!  She is so funny and energetic and positive!  I seriously don’t know of one person that could ever dislike her.  After our assignments, we signed the papers for the room and went to grab a snack the hotel staff had for us.  I was famished (seriously…there was a lack of vegetarian food on the plane) so I was really excited about getting to eat.  We were served fruit and cheese straws…I love cheese straws!  A waiter tried to take my last one as he was clearing but I was able to take it off the plate before he could dispose of it.  As he looked at me with a confused expression, I explained I absolutely LOVE cheese straws!!  A minute later, without me even asking, he came back out with another plate of cheese straws for me.  How nice!!!  I was blown away!!  It was late and we had an early morning, so we went to our rooms to get some sleep!

The next morning our training began.  To say we were all exhausted would be an understatement and the exhaustion wouldn’t go away until Sunday when we would have our first opportunity to sleep in.  More on that later though.  I took my last hot shower that I will have for 27 months before our first training session in Guyana began.  We had initial training on security, money (we got paid!!), and Guyana overall.  We met our trainers and some PC Guyana staff members.  After lunch, we loaded up the buses (yes, those tiny metal death traps) and were on our way to Lake Mainstay Resort where we spent 4 days training.  To get there, we had to take the buses to Parika, get on a ferry (1 ½ hour ride), then drive another 45 minutes to Mainstay which is a beautiful resort on the coast.  The little cottages we were assigned to had 2 bedrooms, an ac unit, and living area with a refrigerator, and a bathroom with running water (rain water so it was cool but water none the less.)

After dinner we all retired to our rooms and Chantelle and I began our debriefing sessions in the dark with our headlamps before we crawled into our bug net covered beds.  This was my first time sleeping with a net and for some reason I was really nervous.  Maybe it was because the owner of the resort told us to keep the lights out and windows closed at night so bugs won’t get in as well as sand flies which can bite you even though you are under the net (hence the headlamp debriefings).  Scary!  He also warned us about the Jaguar that just casually roams around the island and told us not to worry about it.  WHAT???!!!  A Jaguar!!!!  Wow…

The next few days were filled with breakfast, training, lunch, training, dinner, then beers while downloading movies from other volunteers.  There were also snacks during training and a plethora of fresh juices.  One of the days we had to take a water test in the lake.  Because of mineral deposits, this lake was black…yes, you read that right.  On top of that (those of you who know me) know my hesitant nature of getting into open water!  We had three tests…swimming, floating with a life jacket, and canoeing.  My friend Molly was a doll and held my hand while we went into the water since I was having a mild freakout…I mean the water is black!!!!  Once we got to the marker though, everyone went swimming and I was left to fend for myself.  I eventually reached the shore and promptly got the hell out of the water!  Molly was also my canoeing partner which was awesome since she used to be on a rowing team, then floating was fine except for having to get back into the water and touch the pagas (what they Guyanese call the slimy stuff on the bottom of the lake).  Needless to say…I earned my dinner that night!!!

Our last day was spent touring around our training site (Region 2) and seeing where we will be holding our trainings (Affiance at the Bacchus library) and living (I’m in Suddie).  That night, we had our dinner outside on the beach with a bonfire and the residents of Mainstay (the Ameridians) came to share their culture with us.  Children danced and sang and the Toushau (the village leader) and his wife sang as well.  It was a good last night and a great way to end our training away from the public.  Tomorrow, we meet the host families we will be living with for the next 10 weeks!!!!!

Waiting for the ferry in Parika

The view from the side of the ferry.  These are speed boats.

Me!!!

Our home for three days!

The beach at Lake Mainstay Resort.  So peaceful in the morning.

First beer in Guyana...yum.

The following pictures were taken on our tour of the training site.

A jaguar a business owner caught

Chelsea (a quarter of her face), Allycia, Steven, Amber and I taking a selfie on the seawall with the Atlantic Ocean behind us

First monkey sighting on Capoey!!!!

Travel Time!!

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this because of the lack of wifi but here I am! 

My experience began with a 5:00am wake up call after a Sunday Funday (and very Sunday Funday).  Getting up was a little rough!  Needless to say my wonderful sisters (and Adam) were there to help me as I freaked out about the weight of my luggage.  It was like I was in a movie in which a frantic girl is throwing things out of her suitcase and over her head!  Very comical.  Anyway, finally made it to the airport, got checked in and then into the long line that awaited me.  This is where the tears fell again…and again…and again.  I think most of you have seen the pictures on FB.  I got through security pretty quickly, got a coffee and bagel from Starbucks and waited to board.  Miami here I come!

In Miami, as I was at baggage claim trying to figure out how I am going to carry everything and I ran into Sia.  My first Peace Corps buddy!  We caught the shuttle and within 15 minutes we were at the hotel.  I had enough time to get to my room change meet my roommate Chelsea (from South Carolina) and get down to registration.  I was extremely tired as I went down to registration but eager to meet everyone!  Afterwards, I had to eat quickly before our meeting started (which was hard for this vegetarian in a Cuban neighborhood and I don’t speak Spanish.  Elise!!!!  Where were you??!!).  We met until 7:30pm then a bunch of us ordered pizza and gathered in the conference room where we had our training.  I found the bar so was able to grab a glass of wine and bring it with me to complement the pizza.  There was a lot of talking during the pizza gathering and we were able to get to know each other on another level.  After we were finished, Molly, Kristina, Margaret and I all went to grab a drink at the bar.  Other’s went out, but I was so tired and we had a semi early morning that I wanted to get a good night’s rest.  Little did I know that it would be my last one for the next week.

The next morning, we woke up early and went to the airport.  Thankfully we got there early because it took forever for us to check in!  In fact, the TSA line was WAY faster than the check in line.  When we finally made it to the gate we had just enough time to grab a coffee (last Starbucks for 2 years!), a bagel and eat before we boarded our flight.  I was sat on the aisle…YES!...with Caitlin and Gabrielle on the inside.  These ladies were wonderful to sit by (and we were all vegetarians and only ate a roll because there was nothing for us to eat) and 3 hours later we were in Trinidad.  For some reason, people cannot figure out what they would like us to do so we are told a couple of things before we actually knew what is going on.  We de-boarded the plane, went through another screening (good lord!), then had to wait for about 1 ½ hours before the next flight started to board.  While in the Trinidad airport, there was a liquor store so a few people bought liquor.  I ended up buying a beautiful dress which I can’t wait to wear!!! 

On arrival at the Guyana airport, we were let out on the tarmac and walked right into a welcome committee of Peace Corps staffers.   After passing through customs we picked up our bags and met more staffers and volunteers outside who were cheering for us and had a banner!  We said goodbye to our luggage, took a picture as a group, then were on our way to the hotel where we were spending our first night in Guyana.

Since I have limited wifi, I am going to try my best to get an update out once a week for now.  Hopefully I’ll be able to keep it up!

Sunday Funday with the Ladies!

It's go time!

We have arrived!

Caitlin and I at the Guyana airport

Group picture!

Family Going Away Party

SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY!  So far we have 3 inches of snow and it keeps coming down!  Since I am stuck at home, now is a great time for another blog entry!

This past weekend was a whirlwind of family, friends, and honky tonk shenanigans.  Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins from Wisconsin came to visit to see me off on my new adventure.  We started with dinner at my parent's house, then the "not so young anymore cousins who think we are still young enough to get schmammered" went honky tonking on Broadway!  I'm telling you...if you have never done this, you must at least once.  Find a local to take you there...
Anyway, we started at Legends, then made our way "hollerin' and swallerin'" all the way to Second Fiddle, Tin Roof, and Paradise Park!  I think PP was our downfall with fireball shots and whatever else the hell Laura bought us (thanks Charlie for bucking up and taking mine for me!).  We eventually made our way (crawled more like it) back to the hotel and took over the lobby waiting for pizza.  Whatever happened to hooker boy?  I wonder if we are allowed back again?

The next day started a little slowly...obviously (in my best Snape (RIP) voice).  The adults (by adults I mean the aunts and uncles because no matter how old the cousins get, we're never adults when we get together) got up and went back to broadway for a bloody and some live music (yes, there is literally live music ALL the time down there...and guess what???  It's free!).  Benny Boy and I eventually made our way there once we were able to peel ourselves out of bed. Again, we started at Legends, then made our way to Tootsies.

Fast forward and we are all at my parents house with more family, friends, and babies!!! Hopefully mom is satisfied for the time being... ;) There was food, euchre, and Packer's playoff football!  Everything went well except for the Packer loss but we still LOVE OUR PACKERS!  Family picture time happened at halftime and then most people made their way back to the hotel to get ready to drive home.  It was very emotional end to the weekend, but I am so glad everyone that could make it did, and I am so thrilled with the amount of support my family has given me.

Honky Tonk Shenanigans!

Twinsies!

Oh Lord!

#byebyebecca  

Besties!!!!

Oh hey Harper!

Bite me!

Emma!!!!!

Mikken and Duke!

Today's snow day

Getting Closer

Monday morning, I woke up with my head spinning in all different directions.  How am I going to get everything packed?  What am I going to do with everything else?  Why do I have so many clothes I don't wear?  So...I decided in my infinite wisdom I was going to have a garage sale on Saturday! Yay, but now there's work to do.

As the week went by, I gathered as many items as I could including a TON of clothes, DVD player, CD player, a shelf, books, kitchen supplies, and office supplies.  Wednesday, I decided I should probably advertise said garage sale so I place and advertisement on Craigslist (just gave a cross street, no actual address).  As Saturday approached, I began to organize and set up for the garage sale.  I was becoming excited and thinking about all the people that were going to show up and buy things! Friday afternoon was the penultimate day of set up where everything was in my garage, laid out on the tables, and ready to go (I can get a little OCD at times).  My neighbors were intrigued and came over to see what was going on and to get a first look at the goods.

Saturday was finally here!  I got up early to place everything in it's correct place in the driveway.  It was colder than the Lisa Spencer (WSMV) said it was going to be but that wasn't going to stop me and all the people that were going to come and give me money!  I WAS READY!
Fast forward to two hours later and only two people had showed up, I was starting to freeze and become bored.  It seemed like the garage sale was going to be a bust, but I persevered.  While waiting, I popped a beer and started to clean and organize my garage; something I have said I was going to do the whole 9 years I've been in the house.  As the day went on, more people came periodically and I ended up making a little money so it wasn't completely a wash.  And, my beautiful and talented friend Jessica Dock (by her album 'Grace") stopped by to give me some love and go through my clothes.  I am happy to say that some of my most favorite pieces have gone to live in a great home with a regular fashionista!  We then promptly went to La Terrazza and drank a lot of margaritas!

All in all, it was a great day, I got a lot of things accomplished, and I had dinner with a lovely friend!

The set up in my driveway!

There's nothing better than friends, Mexican food, and Margaritas!